Squadron touts fundraising edge

Despite trailing in a race that few are following, state Sen. Daniel Squadron's campaign is touting his cash advantage over his main rivals for public advocate, in a memo obtained by The Insider.

The fundraising advantage will enable Mr. Squadron to reach more voters, campaign strategist Alex Navarro-McKay writes in the memo—one that closely resembles a similar missive circulated by the campaign last March.

Indeed, Mr. Squadron is already taking steps to draw attention to the public advocate's race, which has languished as reporters flock to the more headline-generating campaigns of Eliot Spitzer and the candidates for mayor. The Brooklyn senator was spotted by The Insider over the weekend in the Brooklyn-portion of his district filming an apparent television ad.

Mr. Squadron raised $206,978 over the last two-month filing period, but spent nearly all of it over the same period: $194,953. He's raised a total of $1.4 million, and with public matching funds and minus expenditures, is expected to have over $2.6 million to spend in his campaign.

By that measure, the Squadron campaign surmises that his rivals Reshma Saujani and Letitia James will only have $1.8 million and $1.2 million to spend, respectively.

"We are on now pace to have at least $1 million more in voter-contact resources than our closest competitor, Reshma Saujani, and at least $1.5 million more than the third-place candidate, Letitia James," the memo states. "Given the trend of the last two filings, Squadron will likely expand this lead to more than $1 million and $1.5 million, respectively, by September 10. This translates directly into more than double the voter contact—in the field, on TV, on-line and in the mail—of our two leading opponents."

Mr. Squadron's campaign also touted his "grassroots support," noting that his filing includes nearly 3,000 individual contributors, with over three-quarters donating less than $250.

Mr. Squadron's rivals were less than impressed.

"Dan Squadron is touting his Wall Street big bucks because with no grassroots support and polling towards the bottom, he's got nothing else to hang on to," a spokesman for Ms. James said in an email, ignoring that the senator goes by Daniel, not Dan. "Councilwoman James is the consensus choice of labor and Democratic activists who know she'll have the resources to win this campaign and be a great public advocate for all."

"I'm not surprised that Trust Fund Dan thinks he can buy an election," a spokesman for Ms. Saujani said. "He has never encountered a situation he couldn't spend his way out of, and that's what he intends to do now. This was evident as far back as college, when Daniel was busy playing bartender with a bar his family fortune helped fund. Reshma, on the other hand, had to take out loans and work to pay for her dream school. She is running a truly grassroots organization that doesn't rely on the type of money Squadron is getting from his crony friends in Albany."

Mr. Squadron will need to spend a significant amount of those funds just introducing himself to voters. A poll released last month showed Ms. James, a Brooklyn councilwoman, in first place with 17% of the vote. Newcomer Catherine Guerriero was a surprising second with 16%, with Mr. Squadron garnering only 8% of voters, and Ms. Saujani 4%.

Strangely, given her poll numbers, Ms. Guerriero is not mentioned in the Squadron memo.

Crain’s New York Business is the trusted voice of the New York business community—connecting businesses across the five boroughs by providing analysis and opinion on how to navigate New York’s complex business and political landscape.